Hawkins Plant Pathologist James Townsend recently presented “The Crop Conundrum” at the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters’ Annual Conference held in Nottingham. His presentation focused on his background in phytopathology, which is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens and environmental conditions. With James’ expertise, Hawkins has been able to branch into investigations into issues like fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes and parasitic plants, which can all cause large scale losses in crops. James’ expertise will be of particular interest to anyone handling agricultural claims for incidents such as:
- Contamination of bulk grains, pulses, fruits & vegetables
- Rots and moulds of fresh produce
- Self-heating of stored produce
- Germination failure
- Pesticide damage to plants or produce, known as phytotoxicity
- Fallen trees that have caused damage to property
Hawkins was also represented at the conference this year by Chemical Engineer Jake Irwin, and colleagues Graeme Drysdale, Lorraine Clennell and Jodie Oddy.
Some of the presentations we enjoyed attending were “Adjusting to Sustainability” and “Unprecedented Times: Post-Pandemic Claims Handling.” Speakers from McLarens, Zurich, Lloyds Banking Group, Polygon, Smithers Purslow, Harris Balcombe, Kennedys Law and Crawford & Co discussed how the industry will cope with climate change, inflation, and the impact of the global pandemic, while putting empathy at the heart of loss adjusting’s future.
Hawkins would also like to congratulate Criterion’s Helena Evans on her run as CILA president for the 2022 term, with her initiative to promote loss adjusting to students throughout the UK, as well a warmly welcome Davies’ Mark Sweeney as CILA’s new president for 2023.
Our business manager Graeme Drysdale said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the conference both as a member and a sponsor. Congratulations to everyone at CILA for organising a fantastic event.” Hawkins looks forward to attending the CILA Conference again in 2023.
